Tokyo's Tuner Salon

It gets bigger and better.

April 2004 By PETER LYON Photos By PETER LYON

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What started out in 1983 as a low-profile show for tuner shops to show their outlandish wares has turned into the world's third-largest car-customizing showcase behind America's SEMA and Germany's Essen. In recent years, even mainstream manufacturers have warmed to the Tokyo Auto Salon's potential to reach huge aftermarket audiences and have made it their mission to debut concepts and production cars there.

The salon's rise to prominence in the industry is a product of several factors. Of course, such smash hit movies as The Fast and the Furious, which pay homage to heavily modified, high-tech machines of Japanese origin, haven't hurt the salon's cause. And racing video games, such as Sony's Gran Turismo series, have taken the most exciting and best-handling Japanese cars into living rooms and into the hearts and minds of the next generation of car enthusiasts. To them, the TAS is a sign of things to come and a must-see.

Held in early January, the three-day show drew more than 250,000 people. Some 760 vehicles were spread out among 3160 stands at the Makuhari Messe site just outside Tokyo. In addition to admiring the hundreds of lovely ladies positioned strategically in front of every car, the crowds came to see hot production cars such as the Nismo-modified Nissan Skyline coupe, the Toyota Prius race car (see page 44), and the Mazda 6 Mazdaspeed A-spec. They also came to see the zany Mini 4WD, the sexy Mazda MX-5 TS concept, and countless high-powered tuner cars with outrageous, testosterone-injected aero parts. Some things apparently don't change.

Suzuki Lapin SS WorksIn Japan right now, the Suzuki Lapin and the Nissan Cube vie for the title of trendiest four-seat cube-shaped small car. For the past decade, Suzuki has been making special limited-production turbocharged works versions of the Lapin, but this SS is the wildest so far. Unlike any special variant before it, this 63-hp, 660cc Lapin has had its roof lowered by six inches, in addition to receiving stiffer shocks and springs.

Subaru Legacy B4 AsteropeAmerica will get its first taste of a turbocharged Legacy (called the B4 in Japan) by mid-2004, but it won't, unfortunately, look anything like this. Underneath that beefcake body, this is basically a stock 280-hp, 2.0-liter B4 Turbo. Newly formed Subaru Customize Works, which used to make buses for Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, created this B4, called the Asterope. It's got flared fenders, huge 235/35ZR-19 Pirelli P Zero Nero tires, specially tuned Bilstein shocks and springs, and six-piston Endless brake calipers. Subaru says these parts may become available by early 2005, though not likely in the U.S.

Mazda MX-5 TS coupe conceptIn Japan last year, Mazda launched its gorgeous MX-5 RS coupe limited-edition model boasting C-pillar proportions reminiscent of an Aston Martin DB7's. Now it takes that same 160-hp RS and sends it back in time—to the 1960s and the era of the Abarth Clubman racer. Taking retro design hints from the best Fiat had to offer, Mazda has created the MX-5 TS ("Trial Sports") coupe concept, arguably the best-looking MX-5 to date. Mazda has fitted it with a six-point roll cage, low-back '60s-style seats, and stiff springs and dampers, making it ideal for amateur racing. Mazda says it wants to make a limited-edition TS available by 2005. (Don't get your hopes up. It's not coming here.)

NATS Wild Mini 4WDThe NATS Wild Mini 4WD was the undisputed hit of the salon. Inspired by the monster-truck phenomenon, students of Nihon Automotive College, 90 minutes east of Tokyo, took a classic British Mini body shell and dropped it over a Suzuki Escudo 4WD platform and 1.6-liter, four-cylinder drivetrain. (Hey, they don't have Ford F-150s and big-block V-8s in Japan.) Then they added monster tires and fitted heavy-duty off-road shocks and springs to achieve the desired effect. The vast majority of these graduates—engineers, mechanics, and customizing stylists—move straight into tuner and customizing companies that feed Japan's huge tuning market.

Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04You'd never think this macho machine was based on a production car. But it is—the Lancer Evolution VIII—and it must be in order to be eligible to compete in the World Rally Championship. Mitsubishi took 2003 off from rallying after falling off the pace in 2002. However, this all-new Evo WRC, boasting some 6000 new parts, 300 horses, and 398 pound-feet of torque, will spearhead the company's hopes in the 2004 WRC challenge. Behind its wheel will be Frenchman Gilles Panizzi and Finnish ace Kristian Sohlberg, trying to get past Citroën, Peugeot, and Subaru for the title. We already know Mitsubishi is planning to launch the Evo IX next January, and word from inside the company suggests we will see an Evo X in early 2006. But that will be the last Evo based on a Lancer, as Mitsubishi moves toward a smaller, lighter car for future rally challenges.

Nissan Skyline/Infiniti G35 NismoThings are getting complicated at Nismo, Nissan's motorsports and tuning arm. So far, the U.S. distributor has been shipped more than 700 sets of high-performance suspension, wheel, and exhaust packages for the 350Z. And ideally, the company would like to send the same sorts of goodies for the Infiniti G35 coupe (known as the Nissan Skyline coupe in Japan). Because, hey, this Nismo Skyline, developed together with Sony's Gran Turismo people, looks pretty damn good. The problem is that in the U.S. the car is an Infiniti, not a Nissan, as it is in Japan, and U.S. marketing types feel that Nismo parts might not suit the upscale brand's image. And tough U.S. regulations on fiberglass-reinforced plastic body kits effectively mean those parts must be made in the U.S., a hurdle Nismo is seeking to overcome while trying to convince Infiniti that its sports parts are just what many G35 owners want. When these parts will turn up here is anyone's guess.

Mazda 6 Mazdaspeed A-specMazda will be making Mazdaspeed sports versions of all its new models, including the Mazda 3 and RX-8, and the Mazda 6 you see here. The 280-hp, 2.3-liter turbo four-cylinder engine is expected to reach production (at least for the Japanese market) early in 2005. The 6 is fitted with a front air dam and rear spoiler, revised shocks and springs, a sports muffler, and 18-inch alloys with 225/40R-18 Bridgestone Potenza RE01 tires. Mazda says, however, that it has plans to sell these parts only in Japan for the time being.

Nissan 350Z GT race carYep, it's left-hand drive, which can only mean one thing: Expect to see a version of this racing in the U.S. in the not too distant future. Nissan was tight-lipped about its racing plans in the U.S. for the car after its unveiling at the Tokyo salon. What's certain is that the twin-turbo 3.0-liter 350Z will replace the aging Skyline GT-R GT car in Japan's GT500 class for 2004.